eCoffee Energyband: Viral Chinese Wristband Sparks Backlash

What if you could replace your morning coffee with a mild electric shock? A new Chinese gadget, the eCoffee Energyband, promises caffeine-free alertness by zapping your wrist. For just over $100, the device claims to stimulate brain nerves, but it sparked massive online backlash, with critics calling it a 'portable electric chair' for enforcing China’s notorious '996' grind culture. While experts say nerve stimulation is plausible, the company's scientific proof is shaky, citing unrelated studies and a design patent misrepresented as a technology patent. The controversy highlights a growing public resentment toward productivity-hacking tools that seem to benefit managers over employee well-being. Marketed as a lifestyle tool for students and workers, the underlying tech is also being applied by the company for wristbands that claim to curb nausea or suppress appetite.